The “disruptive president” has struck again: rather than a speech in Libreville, Luanda, Brazzaville or Kinshasa, Emmanuel Macron preferred the Elysée to present his new strategy for Africa, this February 27, on the eve of his tour in Central Africa. Objective ? “Trying to defend what we do in the clearest way.” Holy puzzle! At a time when anti-French discourse is rising on the continent, stoked by the Russians, Turks or Chinese, the “renewed partnership” promised by the Elysée is not without paradoxes…
On the one hand, Emmanuel Macron is reluctant to “enter into a competition” for power with Moscow or Beijing, which would be “anachronistic”. On the other, he advocates a “new economic ambition” with these rivals. He defends tooth and nail “democracy, our priority interest”, but reconnects with the dinosaurs of Françafrique, the Gabonese presidents Ali Bongo and Congolese Denis Sassou Nguesso. Champion of “green diplomacy” in the Congo Basin – the world’s second green lung – the acrobatic president promotes “at the same time” Total’s oil projects in Angola and Uganda. Finally, on the military level, Emmanuel Macron foresees a “visible reduction” in the number of French soldiers and a “new model of partnership” based on the training of local soldiers… provided for a long time, in particular through “military schools with a vocation regional” financed by France from the 1990s. “There is no longer any African policy for France”, reaffirmed Emmanuel Macron in his speech. The problem may be there after all.